It's not a new tablet, but Amazon just announced the Fire HD 8 Reader's Edition. While the hardware isn't exactly new, there's a reason this version costs over $100 more than the original Kindle Fire HD 8.
The Reader's Edition of the Fire HD 8 comes with compelling perks for those who love to read and have made their peace with paperbacks. For those who still love the feel and smell of those old-school things with pages and binding, the Reader's Edition comes with a "rustic leather case."
"The protective case opens like a book and folds flat for comfortable one-handed reading or can stand Fire HD in landscape or portrait orientation so that you can enjoy your content hands-free," Amazon says.
But the leather case isn't the only factor pushing the prices of the latest Fire HD 8 up from $149 to $250, it is the one year's worth of Kindle Unlimited, which costs $10 a month and amounts to $120 a year.
Kindle Unlimited opens up to subscribers a collection of over one million e-books and thousands of audiobooks.
"Fire HD 8 Reader's Edition simply delivers the best reading experience on any tablet," says Charlie Tritschler, vice president of Amazon Devices. "With an incredibly thin and light design and 8" HD color display, this is the perfect tablet for reading — a year of Kindle Unlimited with access to over a million books, plus innovative new features like Blue Shade — now even more readers can curl up in bed with their favorite stories."
Besides all that, it's still the same 1.5 GHz quad-core device the company released in September. The Fire HD 8 is offered in 8 GB and 16 GB version, though the Reader's Edition is only offered in the lower capacity.
And for those who'd rather not pony up the extra funds for the leather case and Kindle Unlimited subscription, the standard Fire HD 8 is pretty reader friendly as it stands.
The original Fire HD 8 includes speed-reading tools, adjustable fonts, multicolored highlights, an exclusive font for e-books and a host of other features.
